Having been born in the "Atomic City" (Oak Ridge Tennessee) and then living my formative years in the "Rocket City" (Huntsville, Alabama) I believe I was destined for a career in the sciences. I received my early education in the United States and Europe and later returned to Huntsville to complete my education at the University of Alabama Huntsville.
I retired after thirty years of service at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, as a scientist/engineer and am now the proud father of three lovely daughters and six grandchildren.
During my career at NASA, I had the privilege of working on a variety of NASA programs including the Spacelab and International Space Station. I have published a variety of scientific papers and hold a patent for a "Hanging Drop" Protein Crystal Growth apparatus now currently flying on the International Space Station.
Some of my memorable experiences were at the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator where I trained Shuttle astronauts for various missions including the Hubble repair mission, Ease/Access and the Shuttle "Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) mission. During this training, I had the honor of working with many of the Shuttle astronauts including Story Musgrave, Bruce McCandless,
George "Pinky" Nelson, James "Ox" van Hoften and Ronald McNair just months before he met his premature death in the Challenger disaster in 1986.
When I am not traveling with my lovely wife Melody or romping with the grandchildren, I love to explore the Universe from my Owl Mountain Observatory. Here I can unleash the splendor and beauty of the Universe through astrophotography. My interest in astrophotography began with a modest LX-200 telescope in the early 1990's. These astrophotography interests eventually
evolved into the fully automated Owl Mountain Observatory.
Never stop learning!
Fred Herrmann